Brad Keselowski may have thrown Riley Herbst under the bus for the race-ending wreck at Daytona, but a former 500 champion isn’t letting him get away with it without reminding him of his own past. Notably, it was the wreck that sealed the fate of the race, as Tyler Reddick claimed the victory with ease. However, as a result of the wreck, Keselowski fired Herbst with stern criticism, something Ricky Stenhouse Jr. snubbed by recalling the #6 driver’s old deeds.

Stenhouse Jr. blasted Keselowski as he supported Herbst

In the recent Stacking Pennies Performance podcast by NASCAR star Corey LaJoie, Stenhouse Jr. shared his thoughts on the 2026 edition of the Great American Race. While speaking about it, the HYAK Motorsports driver touched upon the last-lap wreck involving Brad Keselowski and Riley Herbst.

Speaking on the matter, Stenhouse Jr., who won the 2023 Daytona 500, asked the 23XI Racing driver not to worry about Keselowski’s criticism, as the #6 star has also been accused of similar incidents throughout his NASCAR career. Sharing that he had words with Michael Jordan’s driver and told him not to worry, Stenhouse Jr. told Herbst:

“Hey, don’t worry about Brad. Brad’s wrecked plenty of people. We all have. In 2022, I was leading with five or six laps to go, and he basically right-hooked me off Turn 4 for the win. Then I think the next year, or later that year, he wrecked Harrison Burton. He’s aggressive. The difference is, if Riley makes that block a little sooner and it all works out, he wins the Daytona 500. But the difference between a good push and a bad push is about that much.”

Following this, Stenhouse Jr., who finished second behind Tyler Reddick, noted that Keselowski wanted to end his day on a high note, but Herbst had other ideas. However, he again asked Herbst not to worry. Here’s what the #47 driver further added:

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“It’s small. It’s small. I mean, I know what you mean. Brad’s frustrated because he feels like he had a big run. And Riley, he can’t push the 9 past the 45. He already picked him, pushed him, the 45 makes his run, and Riley’s like, ‘Dude, I got a shot to win this thing.’ He tries to jump up in front of him, and it’s just too late. Yeah, I mean, we’re not talking much,” Stenhouse Jr. further added.

Notably, Riley Herbst and Brad Keselowski triggered a last-lap wreck at the Daytona 500 when Keselowski, who was running in fourth place, attempted to overtake Herbst and take a shot at the win. However, the #35 driver closed the door on Keselowski, leading to a wreck involving them, Joey Logano, and several others.

Herbst’s desperate move came as he tried to protect his 23XI Racing teammate, Reddick, from Keselowski’s aggressive push and create a safe path for him. In the end, the #45 driver claimed the Daytona 500 victory without much resistance.

Meanwhile, Riley Herbst came home in eighth place, behind Chris Buescher and ahead of Josh Berry. Brad Keselowski, on the other hand, managed to finish in fifth place, after which he blasted the 23XI Racing driver.

Brad Keselowski blasted Riley Herbst over the Daytona 500 move

Brad Keselowski was one unhappy man after he was wrecked by Riley Herbst in the final lap of the Daytona 500. Sharing his frustration, the RFK driver called Herbst’s move one of the dumbest he has ever seen.

“That was one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen,” said Keselowski. “He had no chance of blocking my run. I had a huge run. I don’t know if I could have gotten the 45 [Reddick], but I would have liked to find out, because my run was coming up fast. The 35 [Herbst] just wrecked us in itself.”

That said, drivers crashing into one another is not a new scenario in NASCAR. For instance, in the early 2010s, Brad Keselowski was known as ‘Bad Brad’ for his aggressive moves on drivers, a reputation Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin called out after his desperate moves that caused multi-car wrecks at Talladega and Texas in 2014.